Game-counter.



E. .R. HEUSSER.

GAME UOUNTER.

APPLIOATION rum) 001 11, 1909.

m5 no'nms PETERS cu. wnsumc'rou, o. c.

ERNEST R. HEUSSER, 0F MURRAY, UTAH.

GAME-COUNTER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 8, 1910.

Application filed October 11, 1909. Serial No. 522,005.

To all whom it may concern:

Be itknown that I, ERNEST R. HEUssER, citizen of the United States, residing at Murray City, in the county of Salt Lake and State of Utah, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Game-Counters, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in indicators and has especial reference to devices intended to be carried in the pockets and hand and adapted to register the number of points in a game or contest, the particular apparatus disclosed being designed for use in connection with the game of baseball, and has its mechanism and indicia arranged for visually indicating the number of balls and strikes, as they are severally registered by manually turning the indicating members.

The chief objects of the improvements which form the subject matter of this application for patent, are:to produce a simple, convenient, durable and accurate registering device for the particular purpose stated; to furnish means for automatically restoring the indicating members to their initial positions, and to produce a device so designed as to require but few parts thus rendering it unlikely to get out of order, and making it economical to construct.

I accomplish the objects stated and others of general utility by means of the appliance shown in a preferred form in the accompanying drawing in which Figure 1 is a rear elevation of my im proved game register, with its back plate removed. Fig. 2 is a bottom edge view; Fig. 3 is a front elevation with a portion of the front plate removed or broken away.

Referring to the details of the drawing, the numerals 5 and 6 respectively indicate a front and a back casing plate. These plates are rectangular in outline with the corners rounded for convenience in handling, and are held spaced apart by hollow posts or bushings through which the connecting screws 8 are passed and to which they are secured in any approved manner. The casing plates form supports for two shafts 9 which are symmetrically arranged relative to the plate centers, and upon these shafts are mounted operating and indicating disks 10 and 10". These disks have a portion of their peripheral edges milled and projecting beyond the upper edges of the case as shown at 11.

Upon each shaft 9 is fixed a suit-able ratchet-wheel 12, the teeth of the respective wheels being inclined in opposite directions to facilitate their rotation in opposite directions. Upon the front plate 5, at a point about midway the disks is fixed a post 13 which forms a rigid support for a fiat spring 14, the central portion of which passes through a suitable slit in the top of the post. From the point of attachment to this post, the spring gradually tapers toward its free ends to form yielding pawls or detents 15 which engage the teeth of theratchet-wheels 12, and prevent the latter from turning backward. The shafts 9 carrying the indicating disks and the ratchet-wheels are constantly urged in the direction that will hold the radial edges of the ratchet teeth in engagement with their respective pawls, by spiral springs 16, which are arranged between the ratchet-wheels and their respective disks, surround the shafts 9, have their inner ends secured to pins 17 011 the disks and their outer ends attached to posts 18 fixed in the casing plate 6.

Each post 18 projects through a semi-circular slot 19 formed in the adjacent disk, and when the disks are rotated on their centers, these posts limit the movement of the disks in both directions by engaging the walls at the ends of the slots. As these slots extend only half way around the disks, provision is made for the return of the latter to their initial position by a pawl releasing device arranged as follows :Attached to the ends of a small flat bar 20 are two parallel vertically arranged rods 21, which are fitted to slide vertically through suitable holes in the posts 18, and have their ends forked to engage the pawls 15 at a point between the fixed bearing of the latter and their free ends. To the middle of the bar 20 is attached a downwardly extending stem 22 which is slidably mounted in a post or lug 23 fixed in the back plate at a point directly below the post 13. The lower end of this stem 22 projects beyond the lower edge of the casing and is furnished with a head or button 24. A spiral spring 25 surrounds the stem with its ends bearing against the button and the lug 23 respectively, to supplement the action of the spring pawls 15 in normally retaining the stem and button in extended position and maintaining said pawls in operative engagement with the ratchet-wheels, except when the pawls are raised by manual pressure upon the button 24:,

Upon the face of the disks are placed series of indicating numerals 26 arranged in the arc of a circle near the periphery and spaced apart to correspond with the angular distance between the ratchet teeth of the wheels 12. The front plate 5, is provided with two sight openings 27 through which the numerals 26 are consecutively visible as the disks are revolved. Adjacent the openings 27 are designating words 28 to properly distinguish the particular function of the indicating numerals visible therethrough. Thus one of the openings is designated by the word Balls and the other by the word Strikes. As it is necessary, because of the rules of the game of base-ball, that the indicator for balls should register up to e, the numerals on the corresponding disk 10 are arranged from 0 to e. The disk 10 bears only three digits as that is the maximum number required for indicating strikes.

The method of operating the register is as follows z-lVhen keeping tally on the balls and strikes, the device is held in one hand, and whenever a point is to be recorded, the finger of the operator pushes on the projecting milled edge of the proper disk thus moving the latter about its axis in the direction made possible by the pawl 15 and ratchet-wheel 12, the distance of one tooth, thus bringing one of the numerals 2G in registry with a sight opening 27, the escapement of the pawl from a tooth making an audible click by which the operator will know that the proper novement has been made without having to look at the indicator. Each forward movement of a disk increases the tension of the spring 16 secured to such disk as it serves to tighten the coils of the spring, so that when all the forward movements made possible by the limitations of the slots 19 and posts 18, are completed the springs will be wound-up and will therefore exert considerable tension on the disks. To reverse the disks and restore them to their initial positions, it is only necessary to press upon the button 2%: thus pushing upwardly the pawls 15 until they are out of contact with the teeth of the ratchet-wheels 12, and thereby permitting the springs 16 to unwind and correspondingly rotate the disks. Inasmuch as the pawl releasing means are common to both pawls, it will be impossible for the operator to make a mistake by restoring one disk to initial position without moving the other likewise, thus insuring accuracy in keeping the desired tally or score.

It will be apparent that the same mechanism with but slight modifications in details can be adapted to keep tally of different games.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Let tors Patent, is

1. In an indicating device, the combination with a suitable casing, of a disk rotatably mounted within said casing having a portion of its periphery projecting from the casing, and provided with a slot concentric with the axis of the disk, a stop pin passing through said slot, a ratchet wheel fixed on the disk, a flat spring detent rigidly secured at one end on said casing and having its free end engaging said ratchet wheel, a coiled spring having one end secured to the disk and the other engaging the said stop pin, and means guided by the stop pin for releasing said detent.

2. In an indicating device, the combina tion with a suitable casing, of a disk rotatably mounted within the casing and having a portion of its periphery projecting from the casing, said. disk having a slot concentric with its axis, a stop pin fixed in said casing and passing through said slot, a ratchet wheel fixed on the disk, a spring detent arm engaging the ratchet and rigidly secured at one end, av coiled spring having one end secured to the disk and the other engaging the said stop-pin, a manually operable releasing member slidably supported on said pin and engaging said detent, and a spring for the said releasing member.

3. In an indicating device, the combination with a casing, of apair of disks rotatably mounted and having a portion of their peripheries projecting externally to the casing, each of said disks having a slot arranged concentric with its axis, stop pins passing through said slots, ratchet wheels attached to the disks, a post arranged between the disks, a spring detent supported on said post and having its ends engaging the said ratchet wheels, a detent releasing device comprising rods slidably mounted in said stops pins, and attached to said pawls, a bar connecting said rods, a stem attached to the bar and projecting externally to the casing, and a spiral spring mounted on said stem.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

ERNEST R. I-IEUSSER.

vvitnesses JAMES I-Inussnn, J. C. WILLIAMS, 

